Most countries fail AP's test of right-to-know laws

The right to information is at the heart
of CPJ's advocacy for press freedom, so we naturally support legislation
granting that right, whether it is to journalists or ordinary citizens (or
those in the expanding area between). But laws purporting to uphold the
people's right to information are only as good as their implementation. Today,
The Associated Press published an in-depth look at freedom-of-information laws
around the world and the extent to which they are followed. During one week in
January, the AP submitted requests to 105 countries with right-to-know laws and
the European Union, the agency reported. Among its findings:

- Only 14 countries gave complete answers
within their own deadlines. Another 38 countries eventually came up with data
or answers to most of the AP's questions.

- Younger democracies were on average
more responsive than older ones. "Guatemala confirmed the AP request
in 72 hours, and sent all documents in 10 days. Turkey sent spreadsheets and data
within seven days. Mexico
posted responses on the Web. By comparison, Canada asked for a 200-day
extension. The FBI in the United
States responded six months late with a
single sheet with four dates, two words and a large section blanked," the AP
reported.

- More than half of the countries did not
disclose any information, and three out of 10 did not even acknowledge the AP's
request.

- Some countries adopted
freedom-of-information laws as a condition for financing or membership in
international groups, and the AP indicated this was little more than lip
service. Noting that China
changed its rules as a condition for joining the World Trade Organization in
2001 and Pakistan
for $1.4 billion in aid from the International Monetary Fund in 2002, the AP said
neither country responded to its request.

Many of these findings weren't surprising
to CPJ, such as that China (one of the world's worst jailers of journalists) and Pakistan (where reporting the truth can risk a
journalist's life) weren't forthcoming. Nor were we surprised that African governments were among the worst offenders or that
the U.S.
response came with the speed of a snail and was incomplete.

More interesting, perhaps, was the AP's
description of Mexico: "Mexico's
freedom of information law is often cited as a model. Requests can be
anonymous. All responses are made public. The system acknowledges the request
immediately, and full answers typically arrive within a month." At CPJ, we
don't frequently write about Mexico with approval; 27 journalists have been killed there since 1992, most with impunity, and attacks on the press are a regular occurrence. Then again, the vast
majority of journalists killed in Mexico were reporting not directly
on government malfeasance but on drug trafficking and related crime; the
cartels, alas, don't support the people's right to information.

So information, while usually liberating,
can also be deadly. In its report, the AP highlighted the plight of an Indian
man who said his successful right-to-know request into suspected corruption led
to an attack by the local mayor, who allegedly killed the man's wife and
permanently injured his father. "India
was one of just 14 countries that replied to the AP's request in full and on
time," the AP reported, but added that dozens of people in India had been attacked for using
the law and at least 12 killed. It seems as if one not need be a journalist of
any stripe to be endangered by knowledge.

Elana Beiser is editorial director of the Committee to Protect Journalists. She previously worked as an editor for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal in New York, London, Brussels, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

Comments

I am not surprise at the findings. I am a member of the Liberian Parliament, who chairs the Information&Broadcasting and Tourism Committee. It was my committee that work tirelessly to pass the FOI Bill we did but the Executive Branch signed it into law but it is a Toothless Law no secretariat has been set up and not too much will be done on this Law. It's a law on the books but will not be allowed to work. The courts will help to destroy it. I was once a practicing Journalist, who won the CNN African Journalist Award in 1999.